August 2 – Sunderland, relegated from the Premier League last season but now gearing up for the Championship after a summer of aborted takeover talk, have turned back to business matters and signed UK bookmaker Coral as a club partner.
The three-year deal will see Coral take over the in-stadium match day betting service as well as having inventory on Sunderland’s website and social media channels. The bookmaker will also have a package of match-day advertising and branding opportunities.
Sunderland supporters will be able to access exclusive Coral offers and promotions throughout the season, including ‘money-can’t-buy’ experiences.
Coral will not be the only bookmaker at Sunderland next season. Philippines-based Dafabet is the club’s principal partner and shirt sponsor in a deal that was signed for 2015-16 season and which still has a year to run.
Dafabet’s sponsorship was aimed at growing its presence in key markets in Asia as well as the UK. The appeal of Premier League status and its depth of reach into Asian markets was the driver of that deal initially.
In February 2016 Sunderland launched a Mandarin version of their web site in association with Dafabet, building on the success of their Chinese social media platforms Sina Weibo and Tencent WeChat.
Dropping out of the Premier League will slow Asian growth down and the club will be hoping for a swift return.
In the meantime Coral will focus on local and UK opportunity with the club. No value was announced for the deal.
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